17-May-2012
The News
KARACHI: International squash will return to Pakistan when the country hosts Asian Masters Championship in Lahore from September 2-6, an official said on Wednesday.
Tariq F Rana, Honorary Secretary Punjab Squash Association (PSA), told ‘The News’ that players from more than two dozen Asian countries are expected to take part in this championship. It would bring back international squash in Pakistan, he said.
“Indian players are also to come to participate in it. We have chosen Lahore as the venue because Indian squash authorities told us Lahore would be most convenient for them,” he added.
He further said that the aim of this championship was to invite international players, who avoided the country due to security reasons and travel advisory from the Professional Squash Association (PSA).
An interesting thing about the championship was that senior players — up to 75 years old — can also take part, he added. “We will be receiving entries soon, and we are happy that through this championship we will have enough international players on our soil, which in turn will be paving the way for future international events,” said the secretary.
Howard Harding, Media Consultant PSA, in his communication with ‘The News’ said that the governing body of men’s professional game was looking into the travel advisory issue. “PSA tell me that they are currently looking at lifting this travel ban,” he added.
International sports activities in Pakistan have remained subdued since the terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009.
For squash tournaments held in Pakistan, there have been no international entries owing to the ban slapped by PSA.
Punjab Squash Association held an international event in Islamabad from April 17-22, but only three low-ranked foreign players, Ahmad Al-Saraj (Jordan), Hugo Varela (Spain), and Aamir Khan (United Arab Emirates), visited the country.
Currently, PSA allows Pakistani squash authorities to organise only four events in a year, with prize money less than $10,000. Pakistan used to hold competitions with the prize money of around $150,000. Interestingly, this ban has led the squash authorities to invite Pakistan-origin foreign players to give them an international colour.
Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/
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